September 4, 2019 (Wednesday)
Business and economy
- Nicotine marketing
- Michigan becomes the first state in the United States to ban the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes, which the state government says are marketed towards children. (MLive.com)
Disasters and accidents
- New Zealand police confirm that a bus carrying 27 Chinese tourists crashed in bad weather near Rotorua and left at least five dead and six injured. (Sky News)
- Hurricane Dorian
- Hurricane Dorian increases to a Category Three storm as it approaches The Carolinas in the United States. (The Washington Post)
- At least 20 people are known to have been killed by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. (WAVY-TV)
- Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy
- U.S. President Donald Trump uses an altered map showing the projected forecast of Hurricane Dorian in order to support a disputed claim that Alabama has recently been threatened by the storm. If deliberate, the action is a federal offense. (Newsweek)
Law and crime
- 2019 Samoa assassination plot
- After an assassination plot to kill Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa A. S. Malielegaoi is foiled, police are working to extradite a Samoan man who lives in Brisbane, Australia. (Radio New Zealand)
- 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
- Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces the formal withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill. (Reuters)
- Privacy concerns regarding Google
- Google agrees to pay a record US$170 million penalty to settle accusations that YouTube broke the law when it knowingly tracked and sold advertisements to children, the Federal Trade Commission says. (CNN)
- A US federal judge rules in favour of 23 citizens who sued after being placed on a terrorism watchlist, saying the list violates their constitutional rights. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- Brexit
- The House of Commons of the United Kingdom approves a bill to block a no-deal Brexit next month, by a vote of 327 to 299. The bill instructs Prime Minister Boris Johnson to request another Brexit extension if he cannot secure a deal with the European Union in the coming weeks. (The New York Times)
- The House of Commons rejects Prime Minister Boris Johnson's motion to hold a general election in October amid continuing political deadlock over Brexit. (BBC News)
- Politics of Turkey
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he cannot accept that his country is not allowed to possess nuclear weapons. (Reuters)
- 2020 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums
- CNN hosts a seven-hour town hall on climate change featuring ten Democratic presidential candidates. An official debate sponsored by the Democratic Party had previously been shot down by the DNC. (Vox)